According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Indonesia had received a total of 644 Rohingya refugees who arrived in five boats on Nov 15 and 16, Dec 25 and 26 and on Jan 8.
Indonesia has the capacity to strengthen ASEAN’s authority and legitimacy by ensuring compliance with the principles underpinning the five-point consensus.
The writer says Asean must do something drastic soon in its dealing with Myanmar, or risk having the issue drag the entire group down.
Hundreds of Rohingya have reached Aceh in the past few months, including a boat that washed ashore carrying 174 in late December.
Solving the crisis is in the best interest of Indonesia and all ASEAN members to avoid its repercussions on regional security.
Every year, thousands of Rohingya flee the violence in Myanmar and squalid refugee camps in Bangladesh on perilous sea voyages.
Asean, which has been trying to cope with the Myanmar question, has yet to produce a clear response to the Rohingya boat people crisis.
“An informal meeting is a good mechanism for discussing the issue directly, openly and closely", he said, in reference to the complex issue of Myanmar.
The 15-member Council has been split on Myanmar for decades, and was previously only able to agree on formal statements about the country.
The writer says the only solution is repatriating the Rohingyas to their own land.